After six weeks of work, I have finished my profile on Mike Champ and his band The Bynars! I struggled a bit during the writing process, not knowing whether to focus more on Mike, his band, their sound, or their marketing strategies. However, in the end I was able to write a piece on the band’s interactions with technology that I think successfully combined all of these elements. I had a great time learning about Synthpop music and The Bynars and I would like to thank Mike Champ, Matt Jatkola, and Professor Burak for all their help with this project. I hope I have created something you can all be proud of!

This week I met with Professor Burak to discuss my profile. I was having a little trouble because I felt like I did not have a clear focus. I wasn’t sure whether I should focus more on Mike Champ or the Bynars as a whole. Should I focus on the bands music or their innovative way of connecting to fans? Discussing the work I had done so far, Professor Burak told me what stood out to her most and was able to help me pick which topics to focus on. I am now ready to finalize my draft and write an interesting, attention grabbing piece! Check back next week for my comments on the final product!

This past week we all discussed our leads and nut grafs in class. Here it is so far:

“After walking in circles around the second floor of the College of Fine Arts at Boston University I finally found Mike Champ waiting for me outside the office of admissions. He greeted me warmly and shook my hand, and then unlocked the door to his office and let me inside. Mike and I began talking about our mutual friend and almost right away about music and bands. When I set up my computer to record the interview, he seemed a bit uncomfortable at first, but became more at ease when I started asking him questions about his band. Throughout the interview, Mike modestly spoke of their success, and shared what he enjoys about playing and connecting with his audience moving his hands excitedly as he spoke.

Mike Champ is the drummer for the Boston Synth-Pop band the Bynars; if you don’t follow up and coming bands, you may not have heard of them yet but Mike and his band members are gaining popularity by connecting with their audience through social networking, redefining what it takes to make it in the music industry today.”

I read mine aloud and was happy to receive some constructive criticism. I learned that I need to take myself out of the lead, so I can only focus on Mike. Also, I need to elaborate a bit more on Synth Pop music to inform my audience and I also need to focus more on what inspired me to write about Mike Champ and his band; they can now produce a new music video funded entirely by fan donations.

Here is a link to their blog post about reaching their goal for the music video funding, very exciting!

This week I prepared to write my lead to my profile assignment. I went back and watched the interview I recorded with Mike and typed out the responses to give myself enough material. I also took note of Mike’s mannerisms and gestures and realized they made up a large part of his personality. I’m ready now to write my lead which includes the hook and nut graph. Check back for my progress next week!

While you’re here, check out the Bynar’s music video for their song “Party All Nite!”

This week I met with the drummer of the Bynars. Mike waited for me in the College of Fine Arts at BU on Tuesday, greeted me warmly and let me into his office in the admissions department. We had a great talk and Mike told me all about his band, how he started with them and what he enjoys about their style of music. He was modest, yet very informative about what strategies, including social networking, led to the success of his band.

Some interesting moments from the interview were when Mike discussed how he found his band on Craigslist, and the evolution of his band’s sound from rock to synth-pop music. I have a lot of material to start my profile with. Check back on developments next week!

Our assignment was to think of someone we can write about, not a biography but a profile of someone who represents a trend, lifestyle, or idea. After all, everyone has something interesting about them.

When given the assignment a person immediately popped into my head. My friend had told me about coworker of hers in the CFA admissions office, Mike Champ, who has a band called the Bynars.

I did a little research on Mike and the band and wrote a brief bio of them to get some background information.

Mike Champ is the drummer for The Bynars, an up and coming pop-electronic band in Boston, MA. The band appeals to the huge student population in the greater Boston area. They have been playing shows since 2008 and have a show in Cambridge next month. To connect with their fans, the band has their own website with frequent blog updates as well as a myspace, twitter and facebook band page with over 1,000 likes. In just the past month, the band has raised enough money entirely from fan donations to begin an eagerly anticipated music video for their track Every Little Thing You Love.

What struck me about their progress was that the money they raised was from entirely fan donations. It got me thinking about how bands today have much more access to connect to their fans, if they make the effort. Keeping this thought in mind, I began to think of questions to ask Mike when I meet with him on Tuesday for our first interview.

Her hand stretches to its limit, reaching, further and further into the sky even though it can’t possibly go any higher. Each finger gropes the air above it one at a time while she waits, her backside hovering just above her seat. She breaks the momentary silence with the loud smack of her gum. Finally, when her name is called, her tense body relaxes, and she plops back into her seat. She tilts her head off to the side and begins to twirl the strands of her hair between her fingers. They wrap around and around it, forming a little brown corkscrew until it slips of and she starts again. She opens her mouth, exposing the shiny white source of the smacking noise to everyone around her. As she begins to speak, the sound of her voice gets quickly gets higher until it peaks and then falls a bit lower again. She continues on with her detailed description of some event in these repetitive tones, elongating the time it takes her to do this by inserting “like” every few words. As she tries to get closer to the point she stops abruptly, a voice overpowers hers. The teacher calls on the next student.